Review: 'Mean Streak' is filled with surprises

Jeff Ayers Associated Press

Posted:
08/26/2014 09:02:43 AM EDT

Updated:
08/26/2014 09:02:44 AM EDT

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This book cover image released by Grand Central shows "Mean Streak," by Sandra Brown. In the romantic suspense novel, Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, finds herself trapped in an isolated cabin with a man hiding from the world. (AP Photo/Grand Central)

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, finds herself trapped in an isolated cabin with a man hiding from the world in "Mean Streak," Sandra Brown's latest dive into romantic suspense.

Although Emory has a tumultuous relationship with her husband, Jeff, they are trying to work things out. She arranges to take a weekend off to head to the mountains to train for a marathon, but Jeff is furious, and they argue before she leaves.

Emory arrives at her destination, spends the night in a hotel and is on the trail the next morning. She receives a massive blow to the head and later wakes up inside a cabin. A man tells Emory that he found her unconscious and brought her to the cabin to administer first aid. When she asks for a phone or transportation back to civilization, he comes up with excuses to keep her inside and "safe."

Meanwhile, Jeff begins to wonder about his wife but believes she's still angry after their fight and is intentionally staying away from home. When the police begin to question him about her whereabouts and learn that he is having an affair, they start to think he's responsible for her disappearance.

A quick glance might invoke thoughts of a tale mixing Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" with Stephen King's "Misery," but as Brown unveils the full scope of the story, readers will be shocked and delighted about the direction it takes.

Full of surprises and terrific characters, "Mean Streak" is one of Brown's best novels.

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